Pulte Amenity Update

Amenity Report

A little over a month has passed since Pulte Management presented their “final” amenity package that would accompany the added 2500 new homes in Sun City. For many, the overview regarding the new Amenities sounded positive and the door prizes added levity to the meeting.

But, as always, the devil is in the detail. Some clubs and groups are already finding out that what will be provided in the amenity package and associated changes are quite different than expected.

Moreover, the sobering reality of the space reduction per roof top will not become fully apparent until additional homes are sold and occupied.

Little detail was provided during the presentation regarding the amount of meeting space actually provided in the new Multi-Purpose Center building. Since then, details on the square footage for the new multi-purpose meeting room space have been obtained.

Del Webb Plan
15,995 Sq. Ft. / 5000 Homes = 3.2 Sq. Ft. per Roof Top

Pulte Plan
4, 772 Sq. Ft. / 2500 Homes = 1.9 Sq. Ft. per Roof Top

Current meeting space per roof top is 68% greater than new Pulte plan


That comparison of current meeting space with the square footage proposed reveals what residents have to look forward to as the additional population from the 2500 homes arrives. Clearly, meeting space is going to be at a premium. The new meeting space is less than that available in the current Activity Center. Indeed, the new space would fit in one corner of the Ballroom.

The Resident efforts to complete surveys, discuss and analyze results over the last three years since the 2500 home addition was announced is appreciated even if those efforts came up far short of convincing the Developer to keep their earlier commitments. The “balance of the developer’s budget with resident desires” got skewed heavily toward the Developer's budget or lack thereof. As the Developer has frequently stated; The Developer will dictate the final decision. This is true no matter what input residents provide—that is just the way it is!

The Developer has made their decisions and the residents are apparently stuck with the consequences—so much for Trust and Commitments.

Developer's Word is His Bond
R. I. P.

“We technically will make the right decision and then we will keep it fair guys. You got to trust us on that as we go forward and will keep it there. How will the amenities levels be set? Will we have the same levels as 2500 more homes? Basically yes! We don’t want to add the roof tops and not keep up the amenities. When we had two golf courses with 5000, and when we went to 7500, the first decision we made was we will need a third golf course! You can see the ratio there! We will take that same kind of stance on the amenities as well.”

Gary Newman
Town Hall Meeting
October 2005

Since meeting space and parking are going to be in short supply relative to demand, it is incumbent for the CA and the CA Board to begin developing an equitable rationing strategy for prioritizing and allocation of the very limited meeting space. Some have suggested that the CA needs only to improve the utilization of current space—that evening hours are rarely used. Perhaps Governance Committees and the Board could lead that effort in improving utilization by holding their meetings in the evening. This would have an added benefit for those residents that are working or playing during the day; those residents could then attend the evening meetings.

Trailer Barn at 105 Coyote Trail

Any Developer that would, in order to save a few dollars on rental space, plop down three huge construction trailers in a residentially zoned neighborhood and across the street from existing homes can’t be all that concerned about resident input or customer satisfaction. And, to describe the resulting Trailer Barn as “a structure that resembles a nice looking home” says volumes about the Developer’s emerging architectural standards.

This newsletter was based on the best information we could obtain. If there are incorrect quotes or data, we would appreciate advising us with the corrections which we will pass on to residents.